The Fact
The Bureau of Economic Analysis maintains Household Production Economic Statistics as a supplemental account specifically to estimate economic value outside the market economy that standard GDP does not include. In 2026 BEA expanded those indicators with data covering 1965–2024.
What This Means
The omission of unpaid household work is not a fringe criticism of GDP; the agency that calculates U.S. GDP publishes a separate statistical system to illuminate the value the headline measure leaves out.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Household Production: https://www.bea.gov/data/special-topics/household-production
- BEA Research Spotlight, July 14, 2026: https://apps.bea.gov/scb/spotlights/2026/0726-household-production.htm